Last week Chad Billingsley was placed on the disabled list with an inflammation in his right elbow and it was said that he could be out “a while.” “A while” could be the rest of the season.

At least that’s what Stan Kasten, the Dodgers’ president and chief executive officer thinks. Dylan Hernandez reports that Kasten made the commets “out of concern and not based on medical evidence,” but the fact is that there’s just over a month of the season left, so if the guy does anything but feel perfectly healthy as soon as this DL stint is up, he’s probably toast for 2012.

The Dodgers splashed big for A-Gon then Billinglsley may not come off the DL. This is why GM’s maintain payroll flexibility, to guard against the unexpected. Currently the Giants are up 3 in the West and pitching very well, with decent offense. Playing the Astros didn’t hurt, either. But the Dodgers look like they are going to need another pitcher to win the division, and to keep Kemp from full-steaming it into immovable objects every night. Josh Hamilton learned that the hard way.